1st time buyer looking for advice

[Michael Saladin]

I'm a first time buyer looking to get into house hacking. Me and my soon to be fiance will be double income-no kids for a few years and are looking to maximize the opportunities that come with that. Her dad has been helping me to learn more about the ins and outs of owning real estate as he owns several properties as well. He is big into the idea of house hacking and after doing my research...I'm all in. 
I'm open to living in a pretty small space, but would hope to avoid the worst parts of town to start our journey. Does anyone have any helpful tips or advice as I go through the process? We would also prefer to not share a living space so maybe duplex, guest house, anything ADU and so on.
Things like-
Areas to focus on in Houston? Plan that worked well for you? etc etc